Night of highs a night of lows for Jackson

By Cash Kruth / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- During the final 12 innings of the Cubs' 4-3, 16-inning win over the Rockies, as his teammates kept playing late into Tuesday night and then into early Wednesday morning, Edwin Jackson was sitting in the home clubhouse at Wrigley Field.

Plenty of feel-good stories emerged from the win. The bullpen tossed 12 scoreless innings, backup catcher John Baker was the winning pitcher and hundreds of fans experienced the longest game, time-wise, in team history -- six hours and 27 minutes.

But as memorable as the game will be for some, it was just another rough start for Jackson.

"It was mixed emotions. Good, bad, ups, downs. But the team continued to go out and battle," said Jackson, who lasted only four innings while throwing 105 pitches. "I would say it's more frustrating as a starter when you're inside watching the games and you feel like you should be out there and the results weren't there."

It's become an all too common theme.

Jackson surrendered three runs (all in the first inning) on six hits, walking three and striking out four. He ends the month with an 0-3 record and a 7.50 ERA in six starts. Opponents hit .328 against him.

"It's been a tough stretch for me lately. Seems like anything that can happen, does happen," he said. "It's just more frustrating when you feel good and you feel nice and strong and you go out and you continue to have outings like this."

For the season, Jackson is 5-11 with a 5.79 ERA. He hasn't been able to make it out of the fifth inning five times in 22 starts, only five of which have been quality.

On Tuesday night the bullpen picked him up, scattering three hits and fanning 14 in relief.

"They came in and did a great job," Jackson said. "Unfortunately, they had to come in that early."

Cash Kruth is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cashkruth. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.